I for once hope the PM says 'to hell with the allies'

'I for once hope he says, "This is what I will do. You have a problem, go hang!"'

2011 was dedicated to Gang... sorry! Team Anna arm-twisting, debating, pandering, slamming, etc, the government to superimpose the Hazare brand of the Lokpal Bill upon the countrymen.

By the end of the year, the poor Gandhian had taken ill and the Lokpal Bill ended up in cold storage.

The year-end drama in Parliament showed how the political class OBVIOUSLY was in no mood to hurriedly pass the Bill.

On the one hand, they managed to show the so-called civil society who is boss. But on the flipside, they ensured that the nation will have to wait longer before Superman Lokpal rescues them from Evil corruption.

Though I personally feel this bill won't make an iota of difference in the manner this country operates (PS: I mean gives and takes bribes), I will keenly look forward to see in which and in whose avatar the Lokpal Bill shall emerge in 2012.

Please click on NEXT to read further...

Image: Lokpal Bill crusader Anna Hazare with his team in MumbaiPhotographs: Sanjay Sawant/Rediff.com

It's not just the prime minister who needs to loosen up

Like the rest of the country, I am sick of hearing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh parrot the 'compulsions of coalition government' line.

I for once hope (that nicotine seems to have gone into my head) the PM says 'To hell with the allies. This is what I will do. You have a problem, go hang!'

Actually, it's not just the prime minister who needs to loosen up. Some of his Cabinet ministers too need to understand that they don't live in the India of 1947.

At a time when India acts as though it's the so-called baap of South East Asia (or is it some other region...), some of its policies would even make those of British East India Company look like new.

Take, for instance, the recent wave of censorship bloopers. 'Take the BLEEP out of the oven'; 'New Delhi is the BLEEP capital of India' -- the objections by the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council of the information and broadcasting ministry raised on words like beef and rape on the mini-screen is really uncalled for and immature.

Who are you to decide what offends me and my family? Hope this insensitivity doesn't go on in 2012.

Insightful rubbish on how women should dress is not what we should listen to

I sincerely hope that the likes of K K Seethamma (head of the committee against sexual harassment at Bangalore University), C C Patil (Karnataka's women and child welfare minister) and V Dinesh Reddy (the Andhra Pradesh DGP) are sent on long leave to Siberia, where people are fully clothed.

Let's analyse Seethamma's pearls of wisdom: 'I advocate a dress code for women for their own good. What's the use of wearing short tops and showing off their tummy? Women look pretty when they are well covered. Many women lecturers in BU (Bangalore University) wear salwars and jeans. What respect can they expect from boys? Only a sari with long-sleeve blouses invokes respect for women teachers, nothing else. All we need to do as women is to protect ourselves by wearing good clothes.'

Such insightful rubbish on how women should dress up to be saved from lecherous, immoral countrymen is not what this country should lend an ear to.

What about seven, eight-year-olds being raped by a family member or the trusted neighbour? Does wearing a sari ensure safety in public transport? Please, which school did you guys go to?

Sex education and counselling are areas that need attention today. Sex is still a loosely defined, explained and understood term in India.

If only Mr Sibal takes his part-time job (of being country's education minister) a wee bit more seriously -- besides introducing grading mechanisms and releasing cheap knockoff tablets -- clothing may not be an issue for women any longer.

Please click on NEXT to read further...

Image: How women should dress up to be saved from lecherous, immoral countrymen is not what this country should lend an ear toPhotographs: Image used only for representational purposes

I hope 2012 brings to an end to the tamasha over Tendulkar's elusive 100

I sincerely hope that 2012 brings to an end the tamasha over Sachin Tendulkar's elusive 100th 100.

The Agneepath Test series might have burnt the feet of Indian cricketers Down Under already, but who cares? Sachin's ton is more important. Not many expected Team India to do wonders in Australia any way. The man seems to be in no hurry either.

The only people who seem to in a hurry are those at the Reserve Bank of India. With the dollar crushing the rupee and slipping it past the Rs 52 mark, the RBI has its task cut out in the months to come.

From raising the ceiling for foreign institutional investment in government and corporate debt by $5 billion each to raising deposit rates for non-resident Indians to putting restrictions on forward hedging contracts, the RBI has done all it can to stabilise the exchange rate. But it could be months before the rupee return to the pre-50 mark.

One of the big-ticket events to look out for in 2012 would be the outcome of the bumper Indian Air Force deal for multi-role combat aircraft. Another would be the arrival of (hopefully) the refurbished Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov aka the INS Vikramaditya. Oh yes, the Agni-V is also expected to be test fired in 2012.

Overall, there is a lot to look out for in India in 2012. It's a different story how it ends up.